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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29916015">there were no fireworks</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayselz/pseuds/ayselz'>ayselz</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hetalia: Axis Powers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Self-Indulgent, idk tbh, iseul is what? an idiot yes, not nationverse but mayhaps, soulmark au supremacy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 20:27:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,046</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29916015</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayselz/pseuds/ayselz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Jung Iseul probably meets her soulmate, or not — she isn't sure. But, hey, he doesn't care, anyway.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>2P!Japan | Uchida Hikaru/Busan | Jung Iseul</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>there were no fireworks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>In all honesty, Iseul should’ve stopped believing in the idea of soulmates long ago. It brought her nothing but disappointment, anyway, with every single close encounter just turning out to be a fluke. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You’re in the way</span>
  </em>
  <span> was a very common phrase, and she should ingrain that into her pretty, dumb brain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>According to articles she read past 1 AM online, only four in 10 people met their soulmates — most of the time they didn’t even end up together. There was a strange irony in that, Iseul thought to herself, because why would the universe specifically design you to complement someone, but then refuse to let you be together?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Up ahead, the crosswalk’s light blinked from red to green. Iseul frowned at the sudden sensation of being pushed by the crowd behind her, but she didn’t start walking yet. There was something poetic about staying still amid people walking by you, but the inner workings of her brain were too slow and not poetic at all to even begin describing the feeling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Someone barreled into her from behind, out of nowhere, nearly making her fall. It was a good thing Iseul prided on her balance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That didn't mean she wasn't agitated by the stranger's extremely rude behavior, though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was about to open her mouth and berate him — yes, it was a guy, of all people — when she heard him say something first. People were talking around her, rushing across the busy street, feet stomping on the white lines painted on the road, but she heard his voice over everyone else's.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You're in the way."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iseul hated the way her heart skipped a beat at that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s a common phrase</span>
  </em>
  <span>, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Iseul</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she inwardly thought as she watched the stranger walk ahead. He wasn’t much taller than her, as far as she could tell, and he seemed to be in such a hurry that the crowd itself was parting to let him pass. That, or he was actually bumping into them like he did with her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Either way, that put a damper on her hopes. Surely her soulmate wouldn’t be </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>rude, right? Iseul herself was no saint, but she was nice enough. Charming, even, and she would never cross a crowd the way he did. She could say words like “Excuse me”, thank you very much.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still, in spite of considering </span>
  <em>
    <span>letting this one go, this isn’t the first time you’ve heard someone say the phrase</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Iseul found herself taking the first steps to chase after him. Usually she would be very careful in crossing a street, especially when she’s in a foreign country, but he was walking rather quickly — she had a tiny fear that she would lose him in the crowd should she tear her gaze away from him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iseul had always overthought what to say first to those who spoke the words tattooed on her wrist. If they were really her soulmate, then she had to make a lasting impression, right? Or, even better, ensure she’d say the exact words marking their skin. That wasn’t the case with this one, however. She was too caught up in simultaneously navigating the crowd and not taking her eyes off her potential soulmate, she’d forgotten to mentally practice what she’s going to say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So, when she finally was able to catch up with the rude stranger who could or couldn’t be her soulmate, she yanked him by his sleeve and asked, possibly a little louder than she’d intended: “Are you the one?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not unlike the other times she’d tried to confirm if someone was her soulmate or not, there were no fireworks. The world didn’t slow down. Somehow, that brought Iseul relief.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He removed her grip on his sleeve and continued walking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey! I was asking you a question!” Shaking off her initial shock, Iseul easily caught up with his pace this time. The crowd around them was thinning the further they got, and Iseul found herself falling into step beside him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go away,” she heard him mutter, making her laugh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not until you answer my question, mister.” Iseul wasn’t sure if her charm would work on him — most likely not — but she would be damned if she didn’t try. While she wasn’t too keen on the idea of this guy being her soulmate, she knew letting this go would haunt her for a long time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She watched as the already existing frown on his face deepened. Normally Iseul would make a face at that, as sour expressions never really suited people, but she found him slightly endearing. Cute, even, and she low-key wanted the sidewalk to open up and swallow her whole for thinking that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The fuck are you on, anyway?” he grunted in response, finally.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iseul took that in stride. “I’m wondering if you’re my soulmate, since the first words you’ve said are the ones on my wrist.” With a grin, she held up the wrist in question for him to see, but he only spared it a brief glance. When he didn’t speak for some time, Iseul spoke again. “What’s on yours? Did I say the right words?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s none of your business.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh, she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> close to yanking him by the arm and seeing it for herself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still, Iseul chose to take the high road of diplomacy. “It’s kind of my business, you know, as we can be potentially soulmates.” She looked down to her wrist, staring at the tiny print she’d seen on it since she was 12 years old. “You probably don’t care about the whole ordeal, but I do. I’m interested to know who mine is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He suddenly stopped walking, taking her by surprise. Iseul looked around them and was mildly alarmed to see that they were already by the entrance to a subway station. She could also feel her phone beginning to vibrate in her pocket — possibly a very, very annoyed Kyungmi who would be berating her for being late to their call time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re right,” she heard him say, making her turn to him. “I don’t care about you.” With that, he entered the station, leaving Iseul staring after him, bemused and slightly panicking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The reality of the situation only hit Iseul when she couldn’t see him anymore. “Oh my God, what the fuck was that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>shout out to my bestie yumi for her hika-chan ... ty for? everything. &lt; 3333</p></blockquote></div></div>
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